With reference to FIG. 6, a typical fuel supply unit for a vehicle includes a steel or plastic flange 10 configured to be sealed to a wall of a fuel tank. The flange is interconnected with a fuel pump assembly 12 by a pair of metal struts 14. The flange 10 also provides various pathways into and out of the tank for fuel and electrical wiring.
Recently, there has been a greater focus on Electro Static Dissipation (ESD) in such fuel supply systems. It is known that as fuel flows through various components of the fuel supply system, such as the fuel pump assembly, the fuel filter, and various valving and tubing, there is the potential for static electricity to be generated in the various conductive components of the fuel supply system. To dissipate this static electricity, fuel supply systems electrically ground the components through electrical interconnection.
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, some systems employ a separate cable harness 16 which grounds through the pump negative. Other systems employ grounding clips (not shown) that touch the inline filter.
Accordingly, there is a need provide for ESD without the need to use additional components such as a separate harness or clips to achieve grounding.